


Don't Forget He's the Best

by waterbird13



Series: Tumblr Fics [71]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Post Civil War, Rhodey is bitter, and better than everyone, pro Accords, this is not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-26 03:05:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7557691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterbird13/pseuds/waterbird13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhodey is bitter about how he's been treated. He's also better than everyone. An essentially stream-of-conscious reflection on that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Forget He's the Best

**Author's Note:**

> Another piece I'm moving from Tumblr.
> 
> This is post Civil War, and isn't friendly towards Team Cap. It's all about Rhodey and how he's been treated, which means there is a focus on what's happened to him. Bitter as hell.

Rhodey never, ever tells Tony this, but he never would have stayed with the Avengers if Tony hadn’t asked him to.

Tony hadn’t phrased it like a favor. Hadn’t thought it was one. He’d stepped out and given Rhodey his spot, said the team needed air support and a heavy hitter and a guy who knew what he was doing, inside and out, and he could think of no one more qualified than Rhodey. It was a job offer, pure and simple.

It was a mess. It was a team led by a supersoldier whose only military leadership experience came from a few simple years, before the Cold War even occurred, and his right-hand woman, a spy who never seems to work well with others.

And Rhodey knew that Tony partially wanted Rhodey there because he thought Rhodey would be better for the team. Rhodey’s a military man. He would take orders, follow direction, be a team player.

Only Rhodey’s been in the Air Force since he graduated MIT, an officer all the way. He was a Colonel, he piloted the War Machine armor and, for better or worse, he’d changed the face of the American military irrevocably.

Rhodey’s a leader. Rhodey’s capable.

Rhodey’s not someone to be ignored and delegated to the back. Not if there’s no reason for him to be there.

When the team goes to Lagos, Rhodey gets left behind. Not even a courtesy note. Maybe it’s because he’s been saying that they need to let the local government and law enforcement know that a wanted international neo-Nazi terrorist criminal is potentially in their midst, because that’s how international relations work. Because the US military plays it fast and loose, sure, but Rhodey’s an Avenger now. He wants to be better than that. He wants to do good.

People end up dead, and Rhodey doesn’t know if it would have gone different it he was there, but some part of him hates them for putting that on him, for leaving him behind, ignoring nearly thirty years worth of practiced advice, and leaving this mess as the fallout.

When Steve decides the safest hands are his own, Rhodey wants to punch something. The supersoldier, maybe, as much as it would hurt his hands. Leave it to Steve. People just died, but he’s convinced no one can make better decisions than him. That the UN is trampling on his rights and freedoms, like he’s still some little guy getting bullied, and not the big guy everyone’s scared of now.

During the war, his anger simmers strong and controlled. He’s used to it. His whole life, it’s been one excuse after another to be angry. People have always ignored, looked down on, mistrusted, abused James Rhodes.

Months later, when he’s had time to process the loss of his mobility, of his legs, some of that loss worked through privately, some with Tony, some with the hospital therapist, he pulls himself together and tells Tony he can’t–won’t–regret anything. That they did the right thing. That one hundred seventeen countries are not a call they get to ignore.

James Rhodes made a promise when he joined the military, to protect people. He made a promise when he became an Avenger, to protect everyone and anyone who couldn’t protect themselves. He’s War Machine, sure, a weapon, but he’s a shield, too.

Rhodey doesn’t regret one single element of the Accords. Even if the cost is his legs, the Avengers, their peace of mind. They signed up for this, this is what the job is.

He thinks his calm reassures, soothes, settles Tony somehow, Tony who flies apart when he thinks he’s failed. Good. He needs Tony, needs Tony at his best, both because Tony’s his closest friend, and because they have Accords to rebuild. A world to fix.

The anger still burns, though, low and ever-present, because James Rhodes is better than what they tried to make him, dammit. He is War Machine, he flew one hundred thirty eight combat missions. He’s a leader, he’s changed the US military irrevocably. He’s competent and capable and not someone to be shoved aside.

They never wanted Rhodey to be an Avenger. They wanted a suit without Tony in it, Rhodey thinks angrily. Well, they apparently never thought about the fact that they were getting him along with the War Machine. He wonders if they’ve learned.


End file.
